Hear about travel to Algeria as the Amateur Traveler talks to Ric Gazarian from GlobalGaz.com about travel to this “off the beaten path” destination.

Ric, who is also the host of the Counting Countries podcast, went to Algeria in part because he is trying to get to every country, but he had also read enough about the country to encourage him to spend 12 days.

He says “I do think this is a travel gem to go visit. It’s definitely off the beaten path so you’re not going to be running into a lot of tours. It’s definitely an “unspoiled” country. There’s no one hawking postcards or even really trying to scam you. There are some very interesting Roman ruins up in the north. You have the influence of the former French colonialism. You have some amazing things to see in the south including the Sahara desert and one of the most unique places I have been in my life a place called Ghardaïa which is an oasis town in the Sahara.”

Ric started in Algiers where he spent 3 nights. He traveled to a disappointing Roman ruin there (Tipaza), the most interesting Casbah quarter, the church Notre-Dame of Africa, and the sidewalks cafes of the capital.

From Algiers he took a shared taxi to El Eluma to visit the “must-see” Roman ruins at Djemela which were well preserved and nearly empty of tourists. He visited “City of Bridges” Constantine and the 3rd and final Roman ruin at Tiddis.

Ric headed to the “fascinating” 5 villages of Ghardaia. Visiting the area had its challenges as the people are very conservative. But it was worth it to see these walled villages including the women enshrouded in their haiks.

His trip wrapped up with a visit to the Sahara and the town of Timimoun. His visit included a 4×4 tour into the Sahara including berber forts, abandoned villages and giant sand dunes.

Hear why a seasoned traveler fell in love with an under visited country like Algeria.